Near Deaf
by ShotgunStudios
Summary: Jessica Smith, the only girl in Derry with a hearing problem, never considered how Georgie's 'Pennywise' clown doll could ever be dangerous, let alone some shapeshifting alien who eats children. Turns out, even this small town has surprises for her and the rest of the Losers club. It seems friendly enough, but can they really trust IT?
1. Chapter 1

Nothing was going to stop Georgie from getting what he wanted. Jess knew that. She was fully aware how she was going to fall captive to that adorable, pleading face at her side. But that wasn't going to stop the inevitable succumbing to his puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine, fine, you-" the 12-year-old started,

"-and Penny!-" interrupted the 7-year-old, holding up his plush clown doll closer to her face in an attempt to put empathize on it.

"-and Penny can have one of the chicken breasts, alright? Now go on back to your brother, you silly lil' thing." she continued with the correction, grabbing a fork from her side and using it to flip the chicken breast in the pan.

Her smile stayed firm on her face as she watched him. Anyone can tell he had a really good life ahead of him, especially with his imagination.

She adjusted the gold colored all-transistor hearing aid, which she kept in the pocket hidden and enclosed (for the majority) by the flap on her favorite cerulean blue puritan collared, long sleeve, cornflower blue sweater. Her parents never really told her any technical terms for the device or its parts, so she gave the cord-like string the alias of "wire" while the piece that stayed in her ear was known as the "aid" itself, leaving the larger piece to be the "assistor".

To continue with her description, her admiral blue skirt went just above her knees, held there by the leather belt, adorned with its gold lookalike buckle. She had white, knee-high socks with a matching stripe of royal blue right at the top that went well with her blue canvas shoes.

She'd always found blue went well with her eyes, which were the same shade as the sky. However, splashes of yellow here and there also complimented the long, blonde locks that reached the middle of her back and her pale complexion. All that combined with her skinny figure made her look quite beautiful, if she said so herself.

But looking over at Georgie, with that sweet smile of his, it brought her an immense amount of joy that no appearance could bring to anyone.

The doll on the other hand...

Come to think of it, no one really knew how he got that doll... Whenever Jess asked, he'd respond with this crazy story about how he meet 'Penny', or 'Pennywise the dancing clown' in the sewers when he lost his paper boat. Bill's friends had a difficult time going along with the tall-tale, but Jess didn't really mind. After all, Georgie was probably the purest (and cutest) kid in Derry.

It was pretty fancy in appearance. Its Victorian styled costume consisted of mostly greys and whites, but it made the red balls of cotton (puffballs?) on the chest and shoes stand out. The red at least went relatively well with its ginger hair, which was styled in a... unique way that only ever seemed to make the forehead appear larger.

It was the eyes and mouth that put her on edge. The teeth were stylized in a way so it was like a sharks if they ever became yellow and had two buck-teeth in the front. The eyes, though... one minute, she could swear it was blue or green, and then the next they were gold, as if it changed on random... or on the situation.

She shook the thoughts out of her mind as she flipped the chicken breast for the last time, recognizing it was finished cooking. She made sure the fork was stabbed in deeply when she pulled it out, ensuring it dragged the piece of white meat with it. She hovered it over the plate, which had 4 paper towels over it, and carefully shook the fork so it landed in the middle. She got out a small salt shaker from the cabinet and sprinkled some of the condiment on top for flavor before she dipped 2 chicken wings and legs into some egg and milk batter, then flour, and then into the pan to repeat the process.

It'd been a relatively calm day, so she invited the Losers Clubs over at her place for lunch while her father was spending the afternoon at physical therapy. While she didn't consider herself a member, she was on relatively good terms with them due to her shared hatred of Henry Bowers (or as she preferred calling him, Bowser.) That jerk would just go after anyone, no matter their skin, religion, home life, or in Jess's case, physical disability. But that kind of thinking is dangerous- she may accidently burn the chicken thinking it was him.

She still kept her ear open for Richie's occasional... scratch that, _constant_ cursing and jokes so she can come out a second early, pull an alarm clock and go "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP" without end until he shot back an insult. It was, she found anyway, the best way to get him to shut up alongside screaming "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPP" at the top of her lungs. For reasons she can't understand, they still stuck with "Beep Beep, Richie" despite how ineffective it was.

She smirked to herself while she listened to the ongoing argument about what to watch on the TV, the options going from _Ducktales_ to _Transformers _to _M*A*S*H_, and even more that she couldn't list. She just flipped the chicken, her thoughts drifting to what good friends they all were with each other and how it was probably going to last forever, even when the summer ended and time has taken its toll. But the town would always stay the same, boring self, even if they all moved on.

After all, what kind of interesting event could even _occur_ in a place like Derry?


	2. Chapter 2

Lunch had gone relatively well for the 9... make that 10 of them, and that was taking into consideration how Jess had to apologize to Bill for giving Georgie the chicken breast and Richie's nonstop joking (which caused Jess to scream "BEEP" at _least_ 4 times.) It almost made her wonder if she should just ducktape Richie's mouth shut whenever Georgie was around. Then again, that might traumatize or infuriate him (likely the latter), which is something an aspiring psychologist shouldn't be achieving.

Everyone seemed to enjoy it really well- even Stanley, who Jess had to make a salad for instead, since those of Jewish faith could only have meat that had been prepared a very certain way- a way that she didn't know. She just hoped that none of the vegetables and fruits used in it had any bugs or anything of the like in them, using the thought that "since if they had, they (probably) wouldn't put it up for sale in the store" for self-justification.

When all was said and done, they had originally planned on returning to their humble abodes, maybe a call here and there and just spending the rest of the day doing whatever their hearts desired.

But, of course, fate had other plans in mind.

She can say that because almost as soon as they were preparing to go home, it had begun to rain. While this normally would have been ok, none of them had prepared for any form of stormy weather. If Jess had enough supplies for such weather, she would have handed out a raincoat or umbrella to everyone and expect them to return it the next time she saw them. Sadly, she only had so much she could offer, outside of her home to be their shelter.

As a result, the gang just stayed in the living room and talked while the TV played on. The topic changed a lot, from good hygienic and mental health practices (supplied by Eddie and herself) to their opinions on recent blockbusters such as _Naked Gun_, _Rain man_, _Beetlejuice_ and _Who framed Roger Rabbit_, which then transitioned to a debate on if the_ Atari_ or _Gameboy_ was better. Needless to say, it was pretty chaotic.

When all was said and done, Georgie seemed to gain an idea.

"Jessie, do you have any paper and wax?" the 7-year-old asked, his legs swinging back and forth ever so slightly out while he sat on the couch beside his brother, his doll in his lap. It hadn't taken long for him to glance over at Bill. It occurred as soon as the words left his mouth, actually. The older Denbrough caught on quickly, releasing a soft sigh before giving a gentle smile over at the younger ones direction.

"Yeah, my mom might have some in her study. Lemme look." the girl soon said over the ongoing conversations, getting up off the floor as she did. She made sure not to step on anyone's hands or feet by mistake while she approached the stairs. She went up, one at a time, until she made it to the second floor. From there, she went to one of two rooms on the left and opened the door.

She had to push down the pain from looking over the study.

She approached the wooden desk in the middle carefully. All the papers, sticky notes, and similar supplies, which were neatly organized on top in a specific fashion, would have been illuminated by sunlight from the window behind her if it wasn't for the clouds blocking out the giant star in the sky. But she shouldn't- no, _couldn't_ focus on that fact. She forced her emotions to stay put while she opened the top drawer and got out a small container of wax and a sheet of blank paper.

She couldn't bring herself to look over the countless novels that were sorted alphabetically on the shelf to the left, or the board on the right that held multiple drawings she made when she was younger. The pieces of art were pinned there alongside important documents as a sign of how valuable they were to her mother. All she focused on was making a quick exit.

After all, the faster, the better.

She hated entering that room... it just brought to many memories to the surface. But, at least it was over.

She made her way back down, offering the nescessities to the young Denbrough. Georgie promptly put the doll beside him in a position where it (sorry, _he_) can still see the TV before he accepted the objects and handed the objects to Bill.

"Georgie, don't you think its a little rough out there to be doing this today?" questioned Ben, a bit of concern showing through his voice, as it should be.

"Yeah, Ben's right George. There isn't a strong connection between weather like this and influenza, but you can still get some of the symptoms temporarily. Bill already got sick a week ago. Do you want to end up the same way?" inquired Eddie, siding with the newest member of the Losers Club in the process.

Bill remained silent while he made the paper boat, as if he knew he couldn't change his little brother's mind, but Ben kept on. "That, and you can get lost out there on your own." he soon stated.

Of course, the attention and disapproval caused the 7-year-old to pout, which tugged at Jess's heart strings like it was nothing more than a harp.

"How about I go out with him? I have an umbrella he can use, and I can make sure he's attended _and_ that he doesn't get sick." said the 12-year-old, grabbing a waterproof, blue poncho and putting it on, where it went right down to the middle of her arm, and pulled the hood over her head before anyone could dispute her. Like Georgie, nothing could really deter her from what she wanted. It didn't really help that she was already getting dressed though.

However, all it toke for those two to silence themselves was Georgie's bright, joy-filled smile. As soon as Bill was finished, Jess got a marker out from the kitchen (they had a cup on the counter with writing utensils, in case they ever needed it) and carefully wrote the name Georgie requested on the side in her best cursive;

"_S.S Penny_".


	3. Chapter 3

Georgie didn't even wait for Jess and the hand-made vessel when he grabbed the umbrella, opened it and ran out of the house, allowing it to be his shield from the precipitation. He hadn't even waited for his brother, or any of his friends, to say their farewells. She accused it on how he couldn't contain his excitement. Of course, he had to bring the very doll he named the boat after with him. It was only fair, Jesse guessed. She figured, he may have wanted to introduce his friend to the wonders of paper boat sailing.

Jesse had to sprint a little to keep up with the boy, holding the ship under the poncho as a means to prevent it from getting to soaked. The rain was about the same as before- relatively light compared to how it could be, but enough to cause a miniature version of a river on the road to sail down and puddles on the sidewalk. Eventually, she caught up with the 7-year-old and started walking calmly at his side, which was a much calmer way of movement compared to his little skip-like motion.

Jesse was almost glad it was raining. While birds singing and other kids playing outside often provided enough sound for her not to feel nervous, the rain provided a constant, almost melodious tune to it, like a song that most are just unable to hear and appreciate. That, and if it wasn't for the rain, she wouldn't be out here with Georgie.

"Here's good!" Georgie said, slowing to a stop near the start of one of the river lookalikes alongside the road.

"Alrighty..." Jesse responded, carefully lowering the boat down, letting it glide across the water as if it were no different then a real ship sailing across the seven sea's. They maintained a steady pace while they watched it, but Jesse couldn't ignore Georgie quietly cheering it on and urging it to avoid the sewer drains.

"_..because__ its fun,_ _pen._" she could hear the younger Denbrough whisper to his doll. A motherly smile tugged its way through. It wasn't peculiar how he was talking to the doll- if anything, it just proved her earlier point about how pure he was. The only thing Jess found off, (and on its own, it was really minor), was how he didn't make the doll talk to him by throwing his voice in some way. All he did was respond, as if it were a one-way conversation, or if the doll were talking to him telepathically.

"_..look, there, that's the same drain! do you see it?"_ the little boy whispered again, only to get no response from the toy in his arms. She assumed he meant it as in it was the same drain he meet the clown in originally, when he returned the '_S.S Georgie_' to him after it fell into the sewers under Derry. That's according to his origin story, anyway.

"No- nOoO-" Georgie suddenly said out loud as he broke into a slight sprint, catching Jess off guard. While she was watching him, it turned out the _S.S Penny_ was dangerously close to going into the drain. She began mentally scolding herself for having diverted her focus for such a long period of time.

Just as she was about to step in as an attempt to prevent it, to her utmost surprise, the boat began to divert away from it on its own, going _against _the current, which she knew wasn't natural. While it was for sure some form of miracle, something felt _off_ about it- a strange feeling in the air. While she barely even noticed it, it faded away from existence once the vessel began its regular course on the other side.

"_..__thanks_ _penny.._" murmured the little boy, giving a look of genuine gratitude to the clown doll. But she knew it had nothing to do with that. How could it? It was an inanimate toy. It having been the cause of that went against every sense of logic she knew; physics, reality, so on.

She could've sworn at the dolls sewn-in, toothy grin grew a little wider, like it was able to sense her disbelief and saw amusement in it. But that was just ridiculous- an optical illusion or trick of the mind was much more plausible.

Maybe it was a hallucination...did that mean she was going insane? She better not be. Mental problems look horrible on a resume to be a _psychologist_.

Still, she released a breath she hadn't even realized she toke in the form of a sigh of relief. However, outside of the rain falling from the clouds above, the two made little sound... she decided to change that. That was, until Georgie beat her to the punch.

"Me and Pen really liked your lunch, Jessie!" the kid stated, a very zestful and enthusiastic expression accompanying him.

"..Thanks, Georgie. I'm glad you did." the 12-year-old replied, glancing over at him with a genuine smirk on her face. He always managed to find a way to make her feel better, even when he wasn't trying.

She pushed the thoughts aside for later... or perhaps she could go ahead and ask him now, while the time was right? When else might she get the opportunity? Worse case scenario would be she makes Georgie laugh his socks off. So, with those odds, she toke the risk.

"Hey, Georgie..?" she questioned, looking over to meet his gaze.

"Yeah?" he asked, but she found it a tad strange he wasn't trying to make sure the boat didn't end up in the sewers. He could be naïve at times, but he wasn't a moron. He'd try and make sure the mistake didn't happen a second time. What she didn't take note of, however, was that the doll kept facing the boat, even when Georgie had turned to face her.

"...Why'd you thank Penny?"

His eyes seemed to widen a little at that the inquiry, as if it surprised him. But then... he looked down at the doll, with one eyebrow raised- like he was unsure and confused about what the doll said.

She could even hear him mumble "_..really?_" to himself, but it wasn't with sarcasm. If anything, it was with enjoyment, like he was hoping to hear... whatever he was hearing say that phrase or.. again, whatever he heard.

"..Georgie." She calmly stated, unaware of how her features hardened into a slight scowl and grimace as if it was a demand. She didn't appreciate it when she was ignored or shrugged aside. She never had.

"..Penny says he wants to introduce himself to you, Jessie! In person! Isn't that great?"


	4. Chapter 4

"...w-What?" was all she could stutter out. So many questions started to form in her head that it drowned out almost everything else.

It was when the sound of faint static rose in her hearing aid snapped her out of her thoughts. Funnily enough, it ended as soon as her focus snapped back to the 7-year-old at her side, who was still holding the doll and umbrella, like what he said was perfectly normal.

"I said Penny wants to meet you. Off-ic-ial-ly." Georgie said, having to speak the syllable of each word. She figured it was because he wasn't all that familiar with it before... but who would have taught it to him? Maybe Bill?

Yeah, that_ had_ to be it.

"..O..Ookay...Where does he wanna meet..?" She inquired, deciding to go along with it. Maybe it could get her some answers if she 'meet' him.

"..That alleyway, right over here." Georgie said, having to guide her physically instead of with his finger due to his hands being occupied with the doll and umbrella. He quickly went to the end before she could even reach the beginning of it.

When she did though... she hadn't expected a 6'4, living version of Georgie's doll standing right behind him, holding the umbrella over both their heads. It even had the red lines coming from the sides of his mouth spearing through its eyes. His other hand was hiding behind his back in what could be made out as an attempt to look serious... which wasn't working, thanks to the forehead that now looked even more ridiculous. But she wasn't laughing. She didn't have the nerve at the sight of that sharp toothed smile, and while it looked more genuine than predatory, it freaked her out even more then it did when it (...he?- no.) was a doll.

To think, Georgie was staring at her with a smile on his face, like he was anticipating- no, _hoping_ for this day to come.

Don't misinterpret her panic; she didn't suffer from coulrophobia. In fact, she loved it when her father had taken her to the circus when she was Georgie's age.

Anyone would be equally as terrified as her if they were in her shoes. Who wouldn't be?

Think about it. The doll one of your best friends owns and obsesses over for about a week turns out to be _alive_. But _noooo, _It couldn't be a _Chucky_ scenario.

Yes, he kills people and would try and take over your body, but at least you can, oh I don't know, crush his face under your foot, or better yet, just pick him up, throw him away, seal the trashcan and be done with him. This one just had to be _taller_ than her. That, and clearly it can change form, so who_ knows _what else it could be capable of, or what it was willing to do.

She had to think through her actions carefully. Anything could happen now. One wrong move and not only could her life be on the line, but so could Georgie's.

"..W-Wha..." was all Jess could manage though, leaving her to cringe internally.

She just stood there, frozen in place by her shock. She still couldn't believe it. _This_ was penny? Did that mean all of those stories he told her were true? Did Bill and the others know about this? Could this impact the little boy's psyche somehow?... no- no, this couldn't be happening. She_ had_ to be going mad. There was no other way. Dolls don't suddenly become human (if it could even be described as that.) It just wasn't possible.

...She could recognize the symptoms as the ramblings went on in her mind. She was falling into the clutches of denial. Did that mean it _was _real, and she was just refusing to believe it? Denial only occurs when something _is_ true, after all. That, or when something horrible has occurred, and nothing has really happened yet.

Normally she would have applauded herself on being able to realize this, but now wasn't the time or place.

"Jessie, this is Penny. Penny, this is Jessie!" stated Georgie, turning to each person as he said their name.

"HelLo JeSsie.." His voice sounded.. interesting, to put it mildly. His voice seemed to go up on certain letters, giving it a slight cartoony effect, but it seemed so... tense. Like he was forcing the words out, trying to pronounce them correctly, and not sound intimidating in the slightest. He was doing surprisingly well at the first two things but failing ever-so-slightly on the last one.

"...Uhhh... H-..Hello?" ...She really was starting to sound like the Loser Club Leader now, wasn't she?

A deafening silence consumed the three, since... well, none of them really knew what to say. And Jess despised it. She hated how even the rain had lost its noticeable noise, as if the tension made her hearing aid turn itself off. The... _thing_ simply titled its head, as if it caught on to that... or expected one of the other two to speak up.

She took a deep inhale, and accepted the challenge.

"..Soo.."

"..sO?"

Well that went well.

No, she knew she shouldn't just leave it like that. Not only was that impolite (to both it and possibly Georgie since he '_introduced_' the two) but her curiosity was killing her from the inside out. That's the thing about intrigue. People always says the _result_ is murderous, but it can also commit homicide by eating one from within... like it was to her now. The only known cure was to act on it.

". . . T-..The_ entire _time?" was what she found herself asking.

"WhAtEvEr do yOu MeAn?" it asked back, as if answering a question with another question made sense- then again, nothing about _this _had any form of sense to it. She had barely even noticed the faint chuckle the inquiry was accompanied with, which just made her feel like it was mocking her in some aspect- an aspect she couldn't pinpoint.

"..This..." she inhaled, hoping that collecting her thoughts and repeating the question in her head would make saying it out loud easier. "This has been what's really going on the entire time?... Does Billy even _know_?" ...He couldn't have, could he? Billy could be pretty lenient, but she doubted he would've ever allowed for this friendship to form at all, let alone flourish and grow the way it seemed to.

The smile 'Penny' adorned smoothed out a little, as if trying to mimic Jessie and form a frown, but its fangs and bucked teeth still showed themselves slightly.

But it was Georgie who spoke up for it. "We were going to tell him- and the others, honest! We... We just didn't know the right time."

She took a second breath, then calmly released it, doing her best to keep any negative feelings inside of her and not release them.

_Who knows what would happen if she did._

She had a lot more on her plate now then some dinner- she had managed to get a whole feast... all to herself, apparently. She had little idea of what she was getting into, but she knew she didn't like where it appeared to be heading.


End file.
